FASD Communities

While out walking this week, I found myself pondering what else we could have done to help Sandy when she was a young adult. Once she turned eighteen, she needed so much emotional support and practical guidance, yet so little was available to her.

Sandy always had a great love of animals. What would it take to establish a self-supporting community with structure and therapy, centered around animal care—doggie day care, grooming, a kennel for overnight boarding of pets? What if Sandy had been able to live in a setting of camaraderie, positive direction, and satisfying, productive work?

Such places are now being developed! In 2011 FASD Communities was founded in Hawaii. This group of parents, social workers, and therapists aims to provide a supportive, self-sustaining working and living center, so that when those affected by FASD grow up, they can participate in a community that understands and supports their needs.

Despite damage to certain parts of the brain, people with fetal alcohol exposure have talents and skills. With care, attention, and supervision they can participate as positive, productive members of society.

They deserve a realistic chance to do so. They deserve the chance to have a life.

Information for Teens

Congratulations to the middle school creator of the prize-winning poster above.

Getting FASD information to teenagers is so very important! Santa Clara County, California made this video for teens. Much of it is from the young mother’s point of view, with information about the effects of alcohol and testimonials from people affected by FASD.

What a big difference it would make to have these facts available to all teenagers!

Fathers

Happy Father's Day, dads--I hope you know how important you are! Not only is your emotional support vital to the growth and development of your children, it turns out that avoiding alcohol and exposure to other toxins is, too. Fathers do not directly cause FASD, but alcohol use can damage sperm, resulting in learning disabilities and hyperactivity in children.

Thanks and much love, Ron (pictured above with Molly), for being such a great partner and dad these past remarkable thirty-five years.

Share Your FASD Story

Eileen Bisgard, executive director of NOFAS in Colorado and juvenile court attorney, shares her personal story. To tell your FASD story, email information@nofas.org.

Words

This recent Radio Lab episode reminded us so much of Sandy. When she came to us at age two-and-a-half, the social worker told us she had a speech delay.

In those first months we delighted in her learning words and stringing them together. She gravitated toward nouns. When she formed crude sentences, they always led.

Then after being with us for three months, Sandy shocked us by crying, “Sandy my name, Sandy my name,” over and over, clapping herself on the chest. For hours.

We’d assumed she'd known her name. She seemed to respond to it.

How had we not known? Was it a dawning concept of self? What was her mindset before?

And how do we step outside our most basic assumptions?

Native American Youth

In 1973, the year FASD was officially identified by the scientific community, I was a VISTA volunteer on a Paiute and Shoshone Indian reservation in Nevada.

The area was remote, with a town of 200 people and nearby reservation of similar size. There was a tiny grocery store, gas station/motel, and several bars. I worked in the K-12 school as an education aide to help Native American youth succeed in school and go on to college. Students were a mix of children from the rancher-controlled town and the large reservation.

Sometimes you would see children waiting in cars parked in front of the bars. Now looking back, I see the faces of FASD. 

Many reservation families did their best to provide positive cultural connections and dreams for the future. One of my fondest memories was pow wows, with elders beating traditional drums for circle dances that lasted hours. Parents taught their children beading on soft-skinned moccasins, gloves, and traditional cradleboards. Many drew on Native American wisdom for their strength.

Pictured above is  Morgan Fawcett, a young Native American from Alaska affected by FASD. This link describes his background, his work and foundation.  Despite the challenges, he is using his talents to make a difference.

 

Youth Advocates for FSD Awareness

Here's a wonderful teen action project taking place in southern Colorado!